Deuteronomy 6: The Shema and the Greatest Commandment: Lessons for Applying the Ten Commandments in Your Daily Walk

The greatest commandment1

Introduction: Deuteronomy chapter 6 is one of the most important chapters in the Bible. Here, Moses distilled the Ten Commandments down into one. Jesus later quoted from this chapter when identifying the greatest commandment. If you love the Lord with all your heart, mind, and soul, following the Ten Commandments will come naturally. This chapter also has a special place in the lives of observant Jews. For the last two centuries, observant Jews have been expected to recite a daily prayer at morning and at evening from part of this chapter called the “Shema”. On Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar, the entire congregation would say it together. It is also the central part of the Jewish prayer book called the Siddur. The three components on the Shema, which are sung in Hebrew, include Deuteronomy 6:4-9; 11:13-19; and Numbers 15:37-41. By Jewish tradition, the first verse a child is taught is the beginning verse of the Shema. Also by Jewish tradition, a person who knew his or her time had come would say the Shema as a final prayer. The lessons in this chapter for a believer have seven components. First, we examine the prelude to the Shema. After giving the Ten Commandments Moses urges believers to act upon God’s Word. If you do, God will bless you. Second, Moses reminds you to place your love for God above all else. Third, Moses urges you to make the Word a visible part of your walk. Fourth, through the Spirit, Moses warns you to always be mindful that your heart is inclined toward evil. Fifth, Moses warns you not to forget your deliverance from bondage when times are good. Sixth, Moses also warns you not to forget your deliverance when times are tough. Finally, Moses urges the people to be righteous by living according to the Law.

1. The Prelude to the Shema: - Be a Doer of God’s Word and Prolong Your Days. Dt. 6:1-3

2. The First Part of the Shema: - Love God Above All Else. Dt. 6:4-9.

To choose God’s covenant of blessings over the devil’s counterfeit covenant of coveting, the Shema or “call to worship” begins as a call to love the Lord with all your heart, mind, and soul:

Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” (Dt. 6:4-9).

The greatest commandment2

Raise your children to know and follow God’s Word3

3. The Second Part of the Shema -Bind God’s Word to Your Head and Arms. (Dt. 11:13-18).

In the second part of the Shema, Moses again states the blessings or curses that come from whether you follow the Law out of love. To keep their hearts focused on God, Moses also advised the Jews to bind the Law to their heads and forearms:

13 It shall come about, if you listen obediently to my commandments which I am commanding you today, to love the Lord your God and to serve Him with all your heart and all your soul, 14 that He will give the rain for your land in its season, the early and late rain, that you may gather in your grain and your new wine and your oil. 15  He will give grass in your fields for your cattle, and you will eat and be satisfied. 16  Beware that your hearts are not deceived, and that you do not turn away and serve other gods and worship them. 17 Or the anger of the Lord will be kindled against you, and He will shut up the heavens so that there will be no rain and the ground will not yield its fruit; and you will perish quickly from the good land which the Lord is giving you. 18 “You shall therefore impress these words of mine on your heart and on your soul; and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. 19 You shall teach them to your sons, talking of them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road and when you lie down and when you rise up.” (Dt. 11:13-18).

4. The Third Part of the Shema: - Set Yourself Apart from the Evil Desires in Your Heart. Nu. 15:37-41.

The third section of the Shema, Moses told the people to wear tassels to remind them to keep their evil hearts set on heaven:

37 The Lord also spoke to Moses, saying, 38 “Speak to the sons of Israel, and tell them that they shall make for themselves tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and that they shall put on the tassel a cord of blue at each corner. 39 It shall be a tassel for you to look at and remember all the commandments of the Lord, so as to do them and not follow after your own heart and your own eyes, after which you played the harlot, 40 so that you may remember to do all My commandments and be holy to your God. 41 I am the Lord your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt to be your God; I am the Lord your God.” (Nu. 15:37-41).

5. Postscript Part I: Remember Your Deliverance in Times of Plenty. Dt. 6:10-15.

6. Postscript Part II: Do Not Complain When Times are Tough. Dt. 6:16

7. Postscript Part III: The Law Will Protect You From Bondage. Dt. 6:17-25.